Smothered Porkchops

We've done smothered chicken...now it's time for the pork!

Ingredients 

4 thick cut Pork Chops
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth 
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Water
salt
pepper
poultry seasoning







Directions

1. Heat olive oil in pan to medium-high heat, season both sides of chop with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Cook each chop about 3-4 minutes per side and reserve on a plate.
2. Remove grease from the pan, and add in the butter. Reduce to medium heat and add the onions. Cook for about 10 minutes, onions should get some real color on them. 
3. Next add in chicken broth and bring to boil, scrap the pan to deglaze. Reduce to a simmer and add milk and water. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. 
4. Add chops and juices from the plate to the pan and allow 10 more minutes to cook.

BBQ Steak w/ Grilled Toast

It's cool outside so we decided to grill tonight, but we were in the mood to try something different then the average steak, and the outcome was delicious!

Ingredients

2 10oz Top Sirloin Steaks

Steak rub
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Dehydrated Onions & Garlic mix

Grilled Toast
4 slices of White Bread
1 tbsp of Melted Butter

2 tbsp of Smokey BBQ Sauce






Directions

1. Turn on grill and set it to high, let it raise over 15 minutes (should be between 400-500 degrees). Use oil or cooking spray on the grill grates!
2. Season the steaks with the rub and let them sit for 10 minutes (if you have the time to let them get to room temperature, that's even better!).
3. Place the steaks on the grill, turn heat to medium, and allow them to cook for 6 minutes. During this time, melt the butter and add to each side of the bread. 
4. Flip the steaks, and allow them to cook for 3 minutes.
5. Mop on a good layer of BBQ sauce on top of the steaks, allow them to cook another 3-6 minutes (depending on how you like your steak, 3 mins (medium), 6 minutes (medium well)) 
6. Add the bread to the grill and allow to cook for about 2 minutes on each side (should leave some nice marks). Be sure to watch that the bread does not catch fire. 

This was a nice meal for a cold day, who says you can't BBQ in the winter time ;) 

Cream of Tomato Soup w/ Katie's Grilled Cheese

It's been getting cold around here lately...and yes we live in Florida! A few cold fronts have came over us the last few days and it has been very refreshing but it also puts us in a soup mood. Here's an easy classic that tastes great!

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Butter
1 28oz can of Italian Peeled Plum shaped Tomatoes
1 Onion, finely diced
2 cups of Chicken Broth
1/2 cup of Water
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
Fresh Chives
Salt
Pepper






Directions

1. In a soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, pinch of salt, and sweat the onions for 12 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally so they do not burn.
2. Add garlic and let cook for 1 minute. Next, add the can of tomatoes (juice included!), using a potato masher to break up the pieces of whole tomato. 
3. Add chicken broth, water, sugar, and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a simmer and heat for 30 minutes.
4. Using a blender, puree small amounts of soup at a time until it is very smooth. Store in a second bowl. 
5. Strain the blended broth back into the soup pot, and turn to medium low heat. 
6. When soup starts to simmer, add heavy cream and allow to heat through, about 3-5 minutes. 
7. Pour into soup bowls and top with fresh chives.

200 calories per bowl

...and no Tomato Soup would be complete without...Katie's Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

Charlie's Chicken Grill

Happy New Year! I know I'm a little late but better late then never :) Like many folks out there, around this time of year, I'm trying to watch what I'm eating. I'm not on any specfic plan or lose weight quick diet...just keeping track of how much I eat and working from there. So some recipes maybe better for you and some might not be...it's a mixed bag, just the way I like it. From this point forward I will also try to include the calorie count for most of my meals, and tonight's was a real treat: Charlie's Chicken Grill! (Calorie Total:  750)

Ingredients

1 Chicken Breast, marinated 
1/2 Onion, sliced large
3 Mini Peppers, sliced in halves
1/2 package of Whole Baby Bella Mushrooms
4-5 Red Skinned Potatoes, quartered
Oil Olive
Salt 
Pepper
Italian Dressing
Poultry Seasoning
Everglade's Seasoning
Chili Powder
Cayenne





Directions

1. Fire up the grill!
2. Marinate Chicken Breast in Italian Dressing 3-5 hours, then remove from dressing and dry. Season with Salt, Pepper, and Poultry Seasoning.
3. Slice Onion and Pepper and skewer them, also skewer the whole Mushrooms. Brush with Olive Oil, and season with Salt, Pepper, and Everglades Seasoning.
4. Quarter cut potatoes, and in a microwave safe dish add Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, and Cayenne. Put in microwave and cook for 10 minutes. Stir potatoes and continue cooking for 2-5 minutes or until the taters are softened.
5. Place Chicken on the bottom rack of the grill and the veggies on top rack. Allow to grill for 8 minutes.
6. Flip the Chicken and rotate the vegetables, continue cooking for 4 minutes.
7. Move the vegetables down to the lower rack and continue cooking for 3 more minutes.
8. Remove everything from the grill, allow 3-5 minutes of rest and then plate everything and dig in!

We topped our chicken with some lemon juice, and malt vinegar for our potatoes, Yum!